Data story · checked October 2026
Unlimited PTO: what it means, and how much people actually take.
Unlimited PTO sounds like the best time-off policy there is. The data says people with it take about as much time off as everyone else, and sometimes less. Here's what it means, what the numbers show, and how to make it work.
13 vs 15
days off a year, unlimited vs fixed, in Namely's records
46%
of US workers take less time off than they're given
6%
of US employers offer unlimited or open leave
0
days of paid vacation US federal law requires
What unlimited PTO means, and what it doesn't.
Unlimited PTO (also called discretionary, flexible or open time off) means there's no set number of vacation days and no balance that builds up. Instead of “you have 15 days,” the policy says “take what you need, with your manager's OK, as long as your work is covered.”
It isn't literally unlimited. Most policies still ask for notice before longer breaks, have busy periods when time off is harder to get, and handle sick leave and parental leave separately. And because nothing builds up, there's usually nothing to pay out when you leave.
How much people actually take: about the same, or less.
Three sources compare unlimited and fixed policies directly. Before the pandemic, people with unlimited PTO booked two days fewer. Since then the gap has flipped to a day or two more, but nobody is taking the months off that unlimited suggests.
Namely, 2016 data
-2.0 days with unlimitedTime-off requests at Namely's client companies. What people actually booked.
Source: Namely (2017)[1]
Namely, 2022 follow-up
+0.7 days with unlimited1,000 client companies after the pandemic. Both groups took less, and the gap flipped.
Source: Namely (Jul 2022)[2]
Empower survey, 2024
+2.0 days with unlimited1,028 full-time US workers, asked how many days they take. Self-reported.
Source: Empower (2024)[3]
Companies that dropped unlimited PTO tell the same story. At CharlieHR, a UK HR software company, a number of people were taking only 21 to 22 days a year, which its CEO thought was too little, so after three years it went back to a fixed number.
What a fixed policy gives, by years of service.
For comparison, here's what US employers with a fixed number give, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The pink band is what people with unlimited PTO say they take.
Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics (Sep 2026)[4], US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2018)[5], Namely (2017)[1], Empower (2024)[3]
Where do you land? Try your own number.
Slide to the days you took off in the last year, not counting public holidays, and pick how long you've been at your company.
12 days: at or above 1 of these 5. About what a fixed policy gives at your tenure, but still below what Europe requires by law.
Why people take less than they're allowed.
It isn't just unlimited PTO. Nearly half of US workers with paid time off don't use all of it, and the reasons are mostly about work and colleagues, not a lack of things to do.
46% take less time off than they're offered
48% take all of it
Something else, or no answer
Why, among those who take less
They don't feel they need more time off52%
They'd worry about falling behind49%
They'd feel bad about co-workers taking on more43%
It could hurt their chances to get ahead19%
They could risk losing their job16%
Their manager discourages it12%
Pew surveyed 5,902 US workers in February 2023; these figures are for the 5,188 who get paid time off. Source: Pew Research Center (Mar 2023)[6]
Unlimited PTO makes those worries louder. With a number, taking all 15 days is following the rules. Without one, every day off is a judgment call about what's normal, and the safest-feeling answer is to take a little less than the person next to you.
Days left on the table, every year.
US workers leave days unused every year. In 2018, that added up to 768 million unused days, and 236 million of them were simply lost.
201616.8 used of 22.6 earned · 5.8 left over
202011.6 used of 17.2 earned · 5.6 left over
Sources: US Travel Association (May 2017)[7], US Travel Association (2021)[9]
768M
vacation days left unused in the US in 2018
236M
of them forfeited, never paid or carried over
$65.5B
in benefits lost to those forfeited days
Source: US Travel Association (2019)[8]
How common unlimited PTO is: rarer than it sounds.
Unlimited PTO gets a lot of attention because of the companies that have it, like Netflix and Microsoft. Across all US employers it's still rare, and it hasn't grown since 2022.
Sources: Small Business Association of Michigan (2022)[14], Workable (2023)[13], SHRM (Oct 2024)[12], SHRM (2025)[11], SHRM (2026)[10], HR Dive (Nov 2024)[15]
What workers think about unlimited PTO.
People like the idea. They also know themselves: most say they'd cap their own time off, and almost all want a minimum written into the policy.
- 91%say unlimited PTO should come with a required minimumPatriot Software, Mar 2026
- 66%would take 15 days or fewer a year if it were unlimitedPatriot Software, Mar 2026
- 50%say they'd take more time off with unlimited PTO (23% say less)Empower, 2024
- 49%check work email while they're on PTOEmpower, 2024
- 43%think every company should offer unlimited PTOEmpower, 2024
- 35%feel anxious when they ask for time offEmpower, 2024
Unlimited in the US vs the legal minimum elsewhere.
In much of the world, the floor is set by law. A US worker with unlimited PTO who takes the typical 12 to 16 days is below the minimum every employer in the EU must give.
What people on unlimited PTO in the US report taking: 12 to 16 days
Sources: US Department of Labor (2026)[27], EU-OSHA (2003)[24], Service-Public.fr (2026)[26], GOV.UK (2026)[25]
Who tried it, who dropped it.
Some companies have gone unlimited, others have gone back, and a growing number keep the flexibility but add a minimum.
2015KickstarterDropped it
Ends unlimited vacation after finding people took less than under a fixed policy. Chartered Management Institute
2015CharlieHRWent unlimited
Starts with unlimited holiday from day one. CharlieHR
2018CharlieHRDropped it
Scraps it after three years, when some people were taking only 21 to 22 days a year. Moves to 25 days plus bank holidays, and asks people to take 5 days off every quarter. CharlieHR
2019BufferAdded a minimum
Moves from unlimited to flexible time off with a recommended minimum of three weeks a year and no cap. Buffer
2023MicrosoftWent unlimited
Gives US salaried staff discretionary time off from January 16 and pays out unused vacation balances in April. SHRM
2025BoltAdded a minimum
Replaces unlimited PTO with four weeks of required paid vacation, rising to 25 days with tenure, citing burnout. Fortune
Netflix is the best-known example of a company that kept it. Its culture page still describes its vacation policy as “take vacation” for salaried staff. For the big tech companies' current policies, see PTO at big tech, and for the full list, companies with unlimited PTO.
When you leave: the payout question.
With a fixed policy, unused vacation is often paid out when you leave, and some states require it. California treats earned vacation as wages: it can't be forfeited, use-it-or-lose-it rules aren't allowed, and whatever is left is paid out at the final rate of pay.
Unlimited PTO usually has nothing to pay out, because nothing builds up. That's one reason employees are wary of it. When a company switches, it usually pays out what people had already earned: Microsoft paid out unused vacation in April 2023 when it moved US salaried staff to discretionary time off. In California, courts have looked at whether a policy is unlimited in practice, not just in name, before deciding nothing is owed.
Want to know what a balance is worth? The PTO payout calculator works it out. This is general information, not legal advice: check your state labor department.
Sources: California Labor Commissioner (2026)[28], SHRM (Jan 2023)[21]
How to make unlimited PTO actually unlimited.
The companies that kept the flexibility and got people to rest have one thing in common: a number, written down, that's a floor rather than a ceiling.
Buffer
A recommended minimum of three weeks (15 working days) a year, no cap.
The Bonadio Group
At least 120 hours a year, including five business days in a row.
CharlieHR
Asks everyone to take at least 5 days off every quarter.
Bolt
Four weeks of required paid vacation, rising to 25 days with tenure.
Sources: Buffer (Aug 2019)[19], SHRM (Jan 2020)[20], CharlieHR (2018)[17], Fortune (Jul 2025)[22]
- Set a minimum. A floor like 15 days a year turns “take what you need” into something people believe.
- Say what's normal. Tell new hires how much people on the team usually take. Silence reads as “not much.”
- Look at the year, not the week. Every quarter, check who hasn't had a break. The person with zero days since January is the one to talk to.
- Plan cover, not permission. The question is who covers the work, not whether someone has earned a break.
- Keep sick leave separate. Being sick shouldn't come out of vacation, unlimited or not.
- Take it yourself, visibly. Teams copy their manager. Put your time off on the shared calendar and stay off Slack.
Without a balance, you need to see the year.
Unlimited PTO removes the number, so the only way to notice who isn't resting is to look at everyone's time off over months. Here's a design team's summer on a Forgot board. It's live: try giving Ken a week off.
- Everyone's time off for the summer on one board
- Ken hasn't taken a day off since June
- The release date warns if someone is out
- Drag a week off onto Ken's row
See who hasn't had a break before they burn out.
Forgot puts everyone's time off on one timeline, months at a time, so the person who hasn't taken a day since spring stands out, and so does the release date when half the team is away.
- Months of time off at a glance, one row per person
- A warning when someone is out on a release date
- Public holidays for each person's country
- Your team sends dates without signing up
Questions
What does unlimited PTO mean?
Unlimited PTO means there's no set number of vacation days and no balance. You take time off when you need it, as long as your manager agrees and your work is covered. It isn't literally unlimited: most policies still need approval and notice.
How much time do people with unlimited PTO actually take?
About the same as with a fixed policy, sometimes less. Namely's records showed 13 days a year with unlimited PTO vs 15 with a fixed number in 2016, and a 2022 follow-up found about 12 vs 11. In Empower's 2024 survey, people with unlimited PTO said they take 16 days vs 14.
Is unlimited PTO good?
It can be, if people actually use it. It's flexible and there's no balance to manage, but without a number many people take less time off and there's nothing to pay out when you leave. Policies with a required minimum, like Buffer's recommended three weeks, work better.
How many days off should I take with unlimited PTO?
A good anchor is what a fixed policy would give: 15 to 25 days a year plus public holidays, with at least one stretch of a week or more. The EU's legal minimum is 20 working days.
How many companies have unlimited PTO?
Few. SHRM's benefits survey has found 6% to 8% of US employers offering open or unlimited paid leave each year since 2022, with 6% in 2026.
Does unlimited PTO get paid out when you leave?
Usually not, because nothing builds up. In California, a policy that's unlimited in name but not in practice can still owe vacation pay, and switching to unlimited usually means paying out balances people had already earned. Check your state's rules.
Why do people take less time off with unlimited PTO?
Without a number, people don't know what's normal and don't want to stand out. Pew found the most common reasons for taking less time off are not feeling the need, worrying about falling behind and not wanting to burden co-workers.
Sources
- 1. Namely, HR Mythbusters 2017 (2017)
- 2. Namely, Unlimited, Limited, Minimum: Does the PTO Plan Type Matter? (Jul 2022)
- 3. Empower, Pursuit of PTO (2024)
- 4. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Paid vacation days by length of service, March 2026 (Sep 2026)
- 5. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Private industry workers received an average of 15 paid vacation days after 5 years of service in 2017 (2018)
- 6. Pew Research Center, How Americans View Their Jobs (Mar 2023)
- 7. US Travel Association, The State of American Vacation 2017 (May 2017)
- 8. US Travel Association, Paid Time Off Trends in the US (2018 data) (2019)
- 9. US Travel Association, Paid Time Off Trends in the US (2020 data) (2021)
- 10. SHRM, 2026 Employee Benefits Survey, executive summary (2026)
- 11. SHRM, 2025 Employee Benefits Survey, executive summary (2025)
- 12. SHRM, Here's how many days employees with unlimited PTO take (Oct 2024)
- 13. Workable, Companies with unlimited PTO (citing SHRM's 2023 survey) (2023)
- 14. Small Business Association of Michigan, SHRM 2022 National Employee Benefits Survey data released (2022)
- 15. HR Dive, Workers would turn down a job without unlimited PTO (Nov 2024)
- 16. Patriot Software, Two-thirds of workers would self-impose caps with unlimited PTO (Mar 2026)
- 17. CharlieHR, We tried unlimited holiday. Here's everything that went wrong (2018)
- 18. Chartered Management Institute, Limitless holiday: boundaries
- 19. Buffer, How we handle time off on a global team (Aug 2019)
- 20. SHRM, 4 lessons from unlimited vacation (Jan 2020)
- 21. SHRM, Amid layoffs, Microsoft moving to unlimited time off (Jan 2023)
- 22. Fortune, Bolt's CEO killed unlimited PTO for mandatory four weeks (Jul 2025)
- 23. Netflix, Work life philosophy (2026)
- 24. EU-OSHA, Directive 2003/88/EC, working time (2003)
- 25. GOV.UK, Holiday entitlement (2026)
- 26. Service-Public.fr, Congés payés du salarié dans le secteur privé (2026)
- 27. US Department of Labor, Vacation leave (2026)
- 28. California Labor Commissioner, Vacation FAQ (2026)
Checked October 2026. Surveys and records cover different people and years, so compare them as directions, not exact figures. Related: what is PTO, PTO accrual calculator, use it or lose it.